The Beauty in Darkness
by emilyjane44
Summary: My take on how Harley & Joker met and how their love began. :Harleen had her whole life planned out. She knew exactly who she was, who she wanted to become and what her life would involve. But starting her dream job as a psychiatrist changes her whole perspective of life at the hands of a green haired clown who prepares to show her that there is beauty in the darkness of insanity.
1. Chapter 1 - Tick

Chapter One - Tick

Harleen Quinzel had finally done it. It felt so surreal. She sprinted up the stairs of her dirty apartment building, knowing the first thing to do when she got home. Opening her door faster than she ever thought possible, Harleen sprinted inside, throwing her bag and keys carelessly on the floor and running straight for her bedroom. She flung her wardrobe doors open, ignoring the shoes and clothes spilling out onto the ground, rummaging around them for her object of desire. Triumphantly, she pulled out the sneakers box. To anyone else this would look like an old, dirty shoebox that most wouldn't dare open for the fear of being suffocated by a stench so bad they would pass out. But this shoe box contained Harleen's most prized possessions.

Finding what she was looking for in the box, she walked into her living room and sat on worn out dirty sofa that groaned under her weight, reminding herself to buy a new one when she finally got her first pay check. The folded, tear stained paper she had taken from the box contained information that was very important to her. Six years ago, when she started this list, she would have never expected to have achieved over half of it by the age of 22, let alone today be ticking off the main thing she had been aiming for her whole life. 1. Train every day until you become amazing at gymnastics, tick. 2. Use this to get a scholarship into a university, tick. 3. Study psychology, tick. 4. Graduate with top marks, tick. And now she could finally tick off number 5, Get a job at Arkham Asylum… and tick. A huge smile spread across Harleen's face, but this was soon replaced with a frown when her eyes cast down to the picture of her parents taped to the bottom of the page. She missed them terribly, but she was doing all of this for them. To fulfil her promise to make them proud in hopes they would forgive her. She shook her head to stop herself remembering or thinking about it anymore, there was not point in continuing to torture herself. She read her list over again. All she had left to do now was to fall in love, marry and have the perfect life.

She folded the paper, carefully placed it back in the box and decided to celebrate her new employment. And what better way to do that than with a bottle of wine and a Chinese takeaway. After changing from her formal interview attire into sweatpants and a vest and eating her Chinese, she snuggled down onto the sofa and fell asleep.

Harleen awoke with a jolt, deliberately springing up and walking into the kitchen to stop the memories of the dream from remaining in her head. A sleepless night dreaming about her parents before her first day was not what she had in mind, but she would take the tiredness over having to remember. Placing the kettle on and putting coffee in her cup, she lazily leant against the counter, not quite believing how light it was for the middle of the night, or for Gotham in general, the greyest city ever, yet to Harleen, the most exciting. The kettle whistled to Harleen, announcing it had finished boiling when something caught her eye… "What does that say on the microwave time?" she thought, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes to get a better look. "CRAP!" Harleen sprinted into her bedroom, how could she not realise it was bright because it was the day! God she really wasn't a morning person. And now she had 30 minutes to dress and get to work for her first day. Brilliant.

She didn't have time for standing in front of her wardrobe panicking about what to wear, but she couldn't help it, she wanted to look professional. She was sick of having men throughout her life more interested in her body than what she was saying or what she could do. Harleen knew that she wasn't bad looking, her cheeks were a little chubby but overall, she wasn't bad. Her years of gymnastics training had given her a naturally small waist, toned stomach and legs and a flexibility she has never lost, but this has only caused her more problems. Throughout university her male lecturers had all taken a shine to her for this very reason, causing the rumour to spark about her sleeping with them to get the best grades in the year. Well she would show all of those who doubted her. Sighing because she had wasted yet more time lost in thought, she grabbed her black midi pencil skirt and paired it with a pale pink long sleeved blouse that only accentuated her waist more, but looking at the time she couldn't care less anymore. She threw on some make up, brushed her hair and placed it into a low ponytail and added her fake prescription glasses to complete the look. "No one will notice they aren't real" she thought. Giving herself a final once over after placing on her patent black heels and spraying herself with an enormous amount of perfume, she grabbed her back and keys off the floor (still there from last night) slammed the door shut and ran to her car.

She must have broken a thousand driving laws to get to the asylum on time, but she didn't care. She was here, in reception, at 8:59 for her first day in her dream job. "Dr. Qunizel?". Harleen's head snapped to the right. "Oh god".


	2. Chapter 2 - Steel

She was so nervous, she couldn't help it. "Oh God" she kept repeating in her head. Harleen turned her head to the short middle-aged woman standing at reception. She had olive skin and a black, harsh looking bob. Harleen stood up and walked over to the woman, holding her hand out to shake hers much earlier than necessary, but she was nervous, and the other woman could sense that. She shook her hand and gave her a comforting smile. "Dr. Quinzel my name is Dr. Joan Leland, I am one of the leading doctors in this institute and have been asked to show you around. I will be mentoring you for your first few weeks here so if you ever have any questions please do not hesitate to ask me." Harleen smiled. "Thank you, Dr. Leland, that means a lot to me. You can probably tell but I am a little nervous."

Leland turned and began to walk down the corridor into the asylum, speaking as she went, "Don't worry dear, everyone feels like that on their first day of any job, let alone one as intense as this! But I have seen the glowing recommendation written about you from your university and graduating top of your class is a real achievement, I have no doubt that you will be very successful here." All Harleen could do was smile and blush, she never did like compliments.

Dr. Leland took her on a tour all over the asylum, to the canteen, the staff room, various people's offices and even down to some of the low security patient wards. Finally, Leland took her to her very own office, with "DR QUINZEL" freshly painted on the door. She grinned from ear to ear at this. Leland left Harleen to make herself comfortable, reminding her if she needed anything to ask. She quickly added that she needed to go and see Dr. Arkham at 11:00 for a meeting to collect her schedule. Harleen thanked Dr. Leland and closed her office door, taking a moment to look at her surroundings. Sure, the office was only small, but it was hers, and that's what mattered.

After spending some time rearranging furniture and organising her desk, Harleen completely lost track of time, yet again. She looked at the clock and cursed out loud, 10:56, she would need to sprint to get to Dr. Arkham's office on the other side of the building! She grabbed a pile of papers she had signed yesterday to return to him and sprinted out the door, immediately bumping into a guard and scattering her papers everywhere. Embarrassed, Harleen continuously apologised whilst picking up her papers, not daring to look at the guards. Whilst on the ground Harleen noticed there were an awful lot of guard's feet in huge black combat boots, and one pair in very expensive tuxedo shoes in black and white. "That's quite alright toots, no harm done". This caused Harleen's head to snap up and lock eyes with the one who spoke, the owner of the elaborate shoes, the person now hysterically laughing in the most chilling way, The Joker. Harleen couldn't breathe. She had no words. The pictures of him do not do him justice. Here, in the flesh, he was more terrifying than Harleen ever thought possible, even in his current state, completely battered and bruised with blood pouring out of his mouth.

Harleen stood slowly, simply staring at him. He was looking back at her now with equal amounts of confusion on his face that she probably had on hers also. She was drawn immediately to his eyes. They were as cold as steel, the same colour too. Hi stare was so penetrating it was as if he was looking through her. They threatened to consume her. They were almost, hypnotic. A small smirk spread across his bloodied lips, and she almost smiled back in her trance. But she was snapped out of it by the guard nearest to her speaking. "That's alright doc, we are all in a world of our own from time to time. You must be new here? First day?". Harleen forced herself to look at the guard to break the spell Joker's eyes forced upon her. The guard had a handsome face, one most girls would fall in love with in one look. "Y…yes, it… it's my first day here. I'm actually on my way to see Dr. Arkham now so please excuse me. Sorry again.". The guard smiled, stepping aside to allow her to pass. "Hope to see you around Doc." the guard shouted after her, watching her intensely as she continued down the corridor. Little did Harleen know that another pair of eyes were on her, watching walk down the corridor, still smelling the sweet scent of her perfume, thinking the same thing as the guard. "Oh yes" Joker thought, "I will be seeing you around doctor". The last thing Harleen heard was his chilling laugh as he was being dragged back down the corridor by the guards. And she couldn't ignore the spark she felt in her stomach or the image of his steel eyes flashing in her mind.


	3. Chapter 3 - Maximum Security

Harleen's meeting with Dr. Arkham dragged on for an eternity. Having to sit there and smile while the middle aged heavily moustached man was quite clearly making pathetic attempts to flirt with her was excruciatingly painful, but unfortunately Harleen was used to it. What she wasn't used to was the electric feeling that still remained in her stomach from her first encounter with the infamous clown prince of crime. She couldn't help but think over and over about those cold eyes…

"Dr. Quinzel are you listening?" She really wasn't. Oops. But she smiled and nodded her head and he continued, quite pleased that the pretty blonde gave him what appeared to be a genuine smile. But Harleen was really smiling about the Joker calling her 'toots'. Harleen suddenly began to panic when she realised what she was doing. How could she be getting lost in stupid girlish fantasies about a patient! It was highly unprofessional. Ridiculous. And she would stop it now.

"Now Dr. Quinzel, your first patients will be from our lower security ward. You will have three patients to manage, who all have forms of schizophrenia. John Humphries is a paranoid schizophrenic that suffers from positive symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions, Helena Ring has catatonic schizophrenia, so she can be quite difficult to deal with and finally Lee Jones is another paranoid schizophrenic, however he has serious issues with aggression and will likely be a handful until he is comfortable with you. All the information you need is in your paperwork. Your first session will be with Mr. Jones tomorrow. Thank you for coming to see me today and please do feel free to come and see me any time Harleen, and I mean any time.".

Harleen's skin began to crawl, he just sounded so creepy when he said that. And did he just call her Harleen? She thought that was a little odd, but she just smiled, thanked him for this time and left as quickly as possible.

It took Harleen a lot longer to get back to her office, getting lost and then stopping on the way to visit the canteen and grab a cup of pudding. God how she loved it. She was shocked at how much she ate and how slim she was still. "Oh well" she thought, "Thank god for gymnastics.".

Harleen pushed open her office door, slammed the files down on her desk and threw her pudding cup in the bin. She was just taking a quiet moment for herself looking around her office. It was all hers. She looked at her files. These patients were all hers. She had done it, she had made it. She felt on top of the world.

Suddenly, the security alarm sounded, causing her to jump out of her skin and breaking her out of her thoughts. In seconds there were footsteps thumping their way past her office door and, if she guessed correctly, down to maximum security. Harleen shuddered at the thought of that place. There were all manor of terrifying patients down there, Johnathan Crane, Killer Croc, the list was endless. Harleen was just glad that she wasn't involved in the commotion and could stick with her lower security patients and not have to worry about treating anyone like that for a while, maybe even ever.

The joy from that thought was short lived when Dr. Arkham burst through her office door, as pale as a ghost and sweating. "Dr. Quinzel, you need to come and see this.". Harleen was confused, what could they possible need her for. But before she could ask the question Arkham was out of the door, already striding towards maximum security. Harleen followed and walked as fast as she could in her heels. "Dr. Arkham, Sir, please tell me what is going on." Arkham took a while to respond, waiting until they had entered maximum security. Harleen didn't even have time to be scared, she was there, staring at the glass fronted cells that contained some of the most dangerous villains of all time. "There has been an incident with one of the patients. But I really can't explain it, you have to see it for yourself." This did not fill Harleen with much confidence.

They walked past all the cells, ignoring the wolf whistles and cat calls after Harleen as she went. They walked into the shower blocks of the maximum-security facility and Harleen stopped in her tracks.

"What the…"


	4. Chapter 4 - Love Notes

"What the… What… Oh my god."

Harleen couldn't even speak.

Blood. Blood everywhere.

Bodies. Everywhere.

Guard after guard was slaughtered on the ground of the shower unit, blood pouring out all over the floor, sticking to Harleen's shoes. One guard in particular stood out to her. His lifeless body, well what was left of it, was spread across the floor in every direction you looked in. Harleen remembered this was the guard who was friendly to her and was sure stared at her as she walked off down the corridor. "Why has he been attacked so much more brutally than the others?" Harleen thought.

Her thoughts were interrupted when her eyes caught the stark ruby message written on the white tiles. A message that had been left by the attacker. A message clearly written in the blood of the poor guards in the showers. A message with simple straight forward instructions:

"I want Doctor Barbie" signed simply with a smiley face.

The smiley face said it all, Joker. And he wanted… her? Why? Why her?

Dr Arkham spoke, breaking Harleen's thoughts and the uncomfortable silence that had settled onto the room. "We are assuming that the 'Barbie' the clown is referring to is… well none of our other doctors have blonde hair and are slim and… well you get the idea. So I have to wonder, as this is your first day, and no patient would have seen you or encountered you… why? Why would he make such a request? Do you know him?"

Harleen thought back to their earlier encounter. How could he possibly want her they had only met for a brief what, 30 seconds? "I bumped into the guards transporting him to his cell earlier sir, on the way to seeing you in your office. But that is the only time I have ever seen him. I can assure you."

Harleen wasn't lying of course, this had been the only time they had ever met, but that bolt of electricity that shot through her when their eyes met… maybe he felt it too? "Oh shut up Harleen you are being ridiculous now." she thought.

Dr Arkham pondered her reply. "Very well." was all he said, allowing the silence to consume the room again. "The clown, as you are probably fully aware, is a very special patient. He brings a lot of funding into this facility, so we try and keep him as long as possible, because we all know he will escape eventually. To achieve this, we try to accommodate him as best as we can to keep him happy and prey it's enough to stop him blowing off the heads of staff members on his way out. Therefore, I am going to grant him this. I have never seen him put so much effort into getting out attention for something that he wants. And as that something is quite clearly you I am going to allow him to see you before he is placed into isolation for what he has done here this evening. I am hoping that him wanting to see you can mean only one thing, he wants help. And I think that he believes you may be the person to do that. I had never considered how a female doctor would fair with him but it is worth a try I believe. After all, you don't to worry about him making any advances on you that freak is as asexual as it comes and is only in love with destruction. Follow me quickly."

Harleen barely had any time to process what had just been said but she found herself following Dr Arkham through the door and deeper into maximum security. They reached the last cell in the corridor when Harleen finally snapped out of auto pilot and came to her senses. She was going to meet and maybe treat The Joker, was she insane? She chuckled inwardly about that remark. "How can I do that, I have only just started, I am not ready for this!" But she paused her thoughts, instead thinking about all those people that has said that to her. "You are not ready for such a job", "You will never succeed", "A girl like you should be getting ready for children", "Aren't bimbos not allowed to have good jobs?". She shook her head to stop the thoughts again and remind herself the real reason she was here. To make her mum and dad proud. "I can do it. And I will do it. To make you proud mum and dad. To prove everyone wrong. I will be the one to treat The Joker."

Harleen stepped forward so she was next to Dr Arkham looking into the glass fronted cell. He was there, strapped to the bed, green hair shining even in the dark, eyes closed, looking almost peaceful… and in a strange way angelic.

The Joker heard them coming. The click of her heels was unmistakeable against the hard lino floors.

"Click click click click… ohhhh ha ha ha ha"

His plan had worked. Of course it had! It was him that thought of it after all!

The door to his cell opened.

"Time for some fun little miss Barbie doll ha ha ha"

 **Reviews and comments welcome! Thank you for all the story follows it means so much! E x**


	5. Chapter 5 - First Encounters

**Note – Just a little note to say that I am not sure about this story and am wondering if people want me to continue? I'll post a few more chapters and see from there whether there is any interest. Sorry for the rambling! Here is chapter 5…**

The door to his cell opened and he remained still on his cot, eyes shut, not acknowledging her presence of course, why give her the satisfaction? He took a deep inhale of breath in threw the nose to smell that delicious scent of fear that accompanied anyone in his presence. But he was wrong, instead he smelt… bubblegum?

"Nice of you to come Doc, I admit I thought you were going to ignore my invitation, but I see you have finally made it"

Harleen remained silent. Giving herself a few more seconds to collect her thoughts and compose herself.

"You know it's rather rude to force your way into a guy's boudoir and not even have the decency to say hello or introduce yourself." _Definitely going to have to teach this girl a few manners_ Joker thought to himself.

Harleen stood tall and strong, she knew she could do this.

"I apologise, I just assumed as you had already given me a nickname you were well aware of who I was."

Her voice didn't shake, she didn't stutter. There was almost an element of sass in her words.

With this statement the Joker slowly turned his head towards the doctor, ready to give her a stern telling off for talking to him in such a way. But he couldn't. As soon as he opened his grey orbs and they locked onto her blue eyes he was taken aback by her beauty once again, much to his annoyance. Her tight pencil skirt that finished just above her knee showed off her long toned legs perfectly that were only highlighted more by her black heels, which he noticed were covered in the blood of the guards, "Oops" he giggled internally to himself. Her pale pink blouse hugged her curves perfectly, but her lab coat prevented him from seeing anymore.

His eyes continued to work there way up back to her face. He had time to properly study it now, their first encounter was far too brief for him to study her in this level of detail. Her pale creamy skin was flawless, making her full pinky lips and bright blue eyes stand out. She was most certainly looked like an angel, there was no doubt in his mind. Which would make playing with her even more fun.

"I'm glad we don't have to beat around the bush then Doc, but just make sure you let me know well in advance if you are coming next time, and at least be on time when you do come."

Harleen's anger was building up, so she decided that if he wanted to play this formal façade game with her, she would also play as well.

"Very well Mr Joker, I apologise. My name is Dr. Harleen Quinzel and I have come, at your request, to take over your therapy sessions for as long as you reside at Arkham. I am here for you at any time that you require me. Our sessions will be slightly structured, but you will also have the freedom to talk about anything that is on your mind. Is that better for ya?" Harleen winced after she allowed her Brooklyn twang to seep through. It usually happened when she got really mad but she was able to control it better normally.

Joker almost laughed as she was giving her ridiculous speech in retaliation to his teasing, but his emotions changed to curiosity when asked that last question. Was that a hint of an accent? Well well well Barbie really does have some secrets. _Oh, how much fun this will be_.

"Harleen. I like that. That name. Harleen Quinzel. Harleeeen … Harleee… Harley. Quinzellll… Quin… Zell… Quin. Oh yes, that brings a smile to my face."

He flashed her an opened mouth smile exposing his grill. She looked back blankly at him, like he was wasting her time on something. _Yep, she definitely needs her manners looked at_. He guessed he would have to spell it out for her.

"Well, don't you see Doc, you rework it a bit and you get Harley Quinn. Like that clown character. Now there's somebody who would be right up my street."

Harleen tried not to smile. Trust him to pick up on that. But she forced the tight knot that formed in her stomach down and tried to remain professional.

"Yes I've heard of the clown character Harlequin. Nevertheless, you may call me Dr. Quinzel, or Doc if you like Mr Joker. Is there anything in particular you would like me to call you?"

"Sexy?" He spoke before even thinking. _Shit._

This time Harleen did let slip a small giggle, but she once again composed herself. She was getting good at this.

He quickly regained control of the conversation, so she wouldn't fixate on what he had just said. "Mr Joker is fine… no wait. It's too formal for you my sweet. You may call me Mr J." He spoke the last part with the same open mouth grin as he did earlier. He was teasing her.

Harleen gave him a quizzical look, should she call him that? Would it break certain codes of conduct? She knew he was teasing. But it may actually help her gain some trust off of him. She decided she would allow it, for purposes of helping him of course.

"Mr J…"

He grinned again. He wasn't expecting this prissy little doctor to go along with his ridiculous nickname, but she had been more than willing. And the way it sounded rolling off her tongue caused his pants to tighten at the thought of himself being the one to coax it out of her… he scolded himself internally for even thinking that. She was just a fake blonde ditz who he was going to have a bit of fun with whilst he was here. That's it.

"Speaking of nicknames, I don't much appreciate being called 'Barbie'. And if you want to get my attention, may I suggest asking the orderly outside your cell to send me a message, massacring guards is not the way to get your point across. Not to mention you ruined my shoes"

"Ahh that's where your wrong toots, - that nickname made Harleen's stomach tighten again – it got my point across because here you are, in my cell, all lone with big bad me. And your shoes, well it's not like they were expensive by the looks of it, much like those drugstore glasses." He smirked.

"How'd ya know they ain't real?" Her Brooklyn twang seeped in again, causing the Joker to laugh. "And anyway, so what if my shoes aren't designer? I still paid for them didn't I? Louboutin's aren't the type of things you buy when you are a student you know."

"You can't kid a kidder my dear. And no you are quite right my dear, though I do believe the red sole would complement your skin beautifully." He seductively winked at her, seeing how uneasy it would make her.

Harleen's chest tightened and her stomach knotted again. _Damn why does this feeling keep coming back?_

The silence that fell around them wasn't uncomfortable. There was an unmistakable buzz in the room. He could feel it, and he knew she could too. There was more to this blonde bombshell oh yes, that was certain. Just as he went to speak again door to his cell opened and Doctor Arkham appeared. _Great, what a cock block._

"Dr Quinzel, Joker. I'm afraid your time for this evening is up. Dr Quinzel, go home. You need some rest after the day you have had, I will see you tomorrow."

Harleen could tell from his tone he was not giving her any other options. She looked Joker in the eyes one last time, steel meeting aqua.

"Goodnight Mr Joker, I shall see you at 11:00 am sharp for our session tomorrow. Don't be late" that last part coming out rather flirtatiously.

Joker flashed her his grill once again, winked and watched her leave his cell, his trouser tightening watching her ass as she left.

Dr Arkham was too oblivious to the obvious flirting between the doctor and her patient. He simply glared at the Joker and ordered the nurses to come in to give him his dose of medication that would knock him out cold for the night. But not even that could dampen his spirits, because just one thought of his new curvy blonde toy would make him giggle like a little boy. This rime round in Arkham was no doubt going to be his most favourite. He just had to get the ball rolling…

Harleen practically fell through her apartment door, her body physically exhausted. But her mind was racing. She went into her first day as just a faceless new doctor with three low down patients and managed to come out as the primary doctor to the joker. THE JOKER?!

Her mind couldn't stop wandering to him the entire drive home and even more so now. He was nothing like she had expected, so charming, but she also had no idea of the level he would go to just to get his own way. Killing those guards? If that doesn't highlight his insanity nothing will. But she came to the conclusion on her way home that he has asked her there because he wants help and maybe she could be the one to give him that help he wants.

Her thoughts continued like this throughout the night as she showered, thoroughly washing her feet several times to remove the feeling of the guard's blood from her feet. She was just about to go to bed when there was a knock at her apartment door. A knock on your door at 12:00 pm was suspicious enough in Gotham when you had people to knock on your door, but Harleen had no one, so this knock terrified her to her core.

Harleen slowly padded across the room, barely making a sound, hoping the person at the door would go away. She slowly bent to look through her peep hole on the door, preparing to see a big gangster staring back at her. But she saw nothing. No one.

Against her better judgement, she slowly opened the door and was greeted by a box wrapped in purple packaging with a green label. Written on the label in the most beautiful calligraphy was "Harleen", making no mistake that the gift was for her. Harleen snatched the box up, looked around the hallway for any sign of who delivered the box, but couldn't see a sole so quickly shut the door.

Harleen placed the box on the sofa and sat down next to it. Without giving it a second thought she ripped open the wrapping paper and was greeted with a beige shoe box with "Christian Louboutin" beautifully written across the top. Barely registering what the box said, Harleen opened the lid and reacted as if she hadn't just read what was on the lid. In the box was the most beautiful pair of black patent Pigalle Louboutin heels, heels she had dreamt of buying when she had some money saved up after a few months of hard work.

Her mind was racing with thoughts of who could have possibly bought them for her. She didn't know anybody that well, and the few people she did know she had met that day at Arkham or really did not have the money for a gift as expensive as these.

But her question on who the mysterious gift was from was answered. The answer came on a small piece of paper tucked in one of the shoes, with the information written in beautifully neat writing, "I thought black and red really suited you in more ways than one, so I replaced your shoes with the real deal. I hope you enjoy them my little Harlequin" signed with a smiley face…


End file.
